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Choosing foods grown closer to home makes for more nutritious and better tasting foods, reducing air pollutants and helping the local economy.

As you sit down to your next meal, consider how many miles the
food you are eating had to travel to arrive on your plate. Was it food grown
locally or on some farm a continent or two away? According to a July
2003 study done by Michigan
State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems,
produce grown locally in Iowa traveled an average of 56 miles to market. While
at the same time, conventionally-grown food traveled an average 1,494 miles to
get to market. The study also reported that produce “traveled eight times
(pumpkins) to 92 times (broccoli) farther than the local produce to reach the
points of sale.”

According to the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in 2007 the typical
American meal had ingredients that on average originated from at least five
foreign countries. Transporting this food to the U.S. requires several modes of
transportation and the accompanying release of carbon emissions. Selecting food
that has traveled a shorter distance reduces the demand for food that requires
the long distance transportation air pollutants. In a study that the NRDC
highlights in their November
2007 issue, when emissions from food grown locally was combined, it produced
fewer carbon dioxide emissions than the import of one imported product.

Eating and purchasing food from the community supports your
community by supporting the farms that grow the food and the businesses the
farm in turn uses. The food less traveled is typically more nutritious and
favored by many chefs for better taste.
Chef Denene Vincent of Le
Chat Gourmet attempts to source her food locally in order to find the best
tasting ingredients.

The health tip for today is to decrease the miles your food
travels and increase the distance your body travels.

August 16, 2017 | Terry McLean | The FoodCorps National Service program in Michigan had a great year supporting student’s hands-on learning in classrooms and school gardens, promoting healthy school meals and a making an impact on the schoolwide culture of health in their communities.